


Thirteen Hours

by PennywiseSewerSlut (totally_magneato)



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: AU, Bill Skarsgard - Freeform, Bob Gray - Freeform, F/M, Gratuitous Smut, Gratuitous Violence, Labyrinth - Freeform, Slow Burn, Tentacles, alien dick, bill skarsgard is bobby gray, bill skarsgard is pennywise's human form, dubcon, eventual smut i think, human!Pennywise, im probably going to hell for this, leave me alone
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-06-28 12:47:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15707526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/totally_magneato/pseuds/PennywiseSewerSlut
Summary: Lindsey's step-mother tells her half-brother that Goblins are stealing away the children in Derry. Lindsey make the mistake of wishing the goblins would take her little brother away in front of a beautiful stranger. When that happens, she agrees to play a game with the clown who took her brother. (AU based on the movie Labyrinth)





	1. The Wish

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Delirium (Uthenera)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uthenera/gifts), [SpoofieLady](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpoofieLady/gifts).



> I was watching Labyrinth last night, and somewhere between awake and asleep I wondered what would happen if it took place in Derry, but the Goblin King was Pennywise. Honestly, I went a little crazy with this idea, but hey. I'm okay with it. Bill Skarsgard is obvs the human guise of Pennywise. Feedback welcome!

It wasn’t like she wanted to babysit. She hated babysitting. But her parents, well, her father and step-mother, insisted on it. Always. Every weekend.

“Can’t you just…not go out? Or hire a babysitter?”

“You know better. We can’t trust anyone with Troy.”

“Then why the fuck don’t you just move out of Derry, Janet?” She napped at her step-mother, glaring over the top of her book.

“Don’t talk to your mother that way, Lindsey.”

“She’s not my mother, Jesus Christ. If you guys are going out anyway, why can’t you just take Troy to the carnival? You didn’t even ask if I had plans.”

“You should tell us if you have plans. You’re 18, you should definitely have plans,” Janet was exasperated, and opened her mouth to say something else when Troy came bounding down the stairs. At 6 years old, Troy was just at that age where he was annoying when he was spoiled. But Lindsey couldn’t say anything about it, couldn’t try to make any kind of point without getting in trouble. Her mother had had the right idea, leaving Derry ten years ago. Hell, most of her friends got out of Derry within a week of graduating, but here she was, stuck in this hellish town, taking care of her half-brother.

Her father hated that she called him that, asking what the other half of him was if it wasn’t her brother. Lindsey had responded with a hasty “Not me,” which her father appreciated even less. But Lindsey couldn’t consider Troy her brother, not when her dad treated him better than he had ever treated her.. Janet had been his secretary at the time Lindsey's mother left, and it took less than six months for her father to officially bring her into the house. And Lindsey fucking hated it.

“Are we still going to the circus, sissy?”

“Not a circus, Troy. It’s a carnival. And yes, we are. Janet and Dad won’t be home til real late, so we have to be home before it gets too dark, okay?”

“Or else the Goblins will take me?”

Lindsey nodded, mustering up all her self control to keep from rolling her eyes, “Or else the goblins will take you.” Janet had told Troy that the thing taking kids was a goblin, but when Troy said the word, it was as if the goblin was an entity of its own. Lindsey thought it was a stupid thing, telling Troy it was some made-up thing and not a human, which it was. Making Troy afraid of shadows and not people was stupid, and as far as Lindsey was concerned, made him more at risk. Not that anybody ever listened to her though.

She waited while Troy bid his parents good-bye, and displeased by the fact she was babysitting again, she flipped her father and his wife the finger as she slipped out the door, calling after Troy not to get too far ahead.

“What did we just talk about, dude?” Lindsey called, watching as the pep in his step faltered. Fear flicked across his face and he hung back to make sure he was able to walk beside his sister. Good, let him be scared. Maybe he would listen better.

“Can we get cotton candy when we get there?” Troy asked, smiling up at Lindsey. The kid was good. Cotton candy was her favorite, and she couldn’t deny that.

“Yeah, alright, you twisted my arm. We can get some cotton candy. What about popcorn, kiddo?”

“Popcorn’s my favorite!”

“I know.”

 

* * *

 

The carnival wasn’t bad. Lindsey would have preferred to have gone on her own, but she supposed it was okay taking Troy. At least it got her out of the house for a while. She bummed a cigarette off a carnie on their way out, and Troy immediately started whining.

“Mom wouldn’t be very happy about that,” he lamented to her right. She shot him a dirty look and he withered beneath it.

“Your mom isn’t the boss of me, so I don’t care.”

“You don’t like my mom very much, do you?” For being so small, Troy really wasn’t stupid.

“Your mom doesn’t like _me_ , buddy.”

The pair of them walked on in silence. Sometimes Lindsey wished whoever was taking children would take Troy, or even herself. How much easier her life would be, if she could just get far away from Janet. Her father didn’t seem to find any issue with her insisting Lindsey stay living with them, despite the fact she should have been moving off to get her own apartment. Christ, she hated living at home.

The walk didn’t take too long, and Lindsey stopped outside the house to finish her cigarette, handing Troy her bag of cotton candy and the house key.

“Go on and get your pajamas on, kiddo. I’ll be in in a minute.”

“But what if the Goblins get you?”

“They don’t want a scrawny grown-up like me, they only eat little kids like you. And I think I hear one coming! You had better get inside, T! Quick before they smell you!” She snickered when Troy ran towards the front door, making quick work of the lock and shutting the door fiercely behind him.

“What’s the point in scaring him on purpose?” A voice behind her made her jump, and she spun around.

“You fucking scared me, asshole.”

“Sorry. You want another one of those?” The stranger asked, gesturing to Lindsey's smoldering cigarette.

“Yes, please. Who are you?” She eyed him wearily, taking him in. He had the most beautiful blue eyes sbe had ever seen, and cheekbones she was certain you could cut yourself on. And hell, was he tall, which was saying something. She was already tall, standing just under six feet, but still he towered over her.

“Bobby, sorry. I’m here visiting my grandparents.”

“You picked one hell of a time to come visiting, Bobby,” she snorted, leaning forward so that he could light her cigarette.

“Oh yeah?”

“Kids are going missing like nobody’s fuckin’ business. I’d be careful, if I were you, honestly. Derry’s weird. Nobody takes too kindly to strangers.” It was then she noticed the red balloon tied around his wrist. Had it been there the whole time? It must have been, balloons didn’t just show up out of nowhere.

“You mean the goblins?” He asked, pointing his chin towards the front door of the house. Lindsey rolled her eyes.

“His mother seems to think that telling him goblins are taking kids, and not some creep, is going to make him safer. It’s stupid. Why make him afraid of something imaginary, and not actual humans?”

“You’ve thought about this a lot. The whole town seems to think it’s something inhuman.”

“Listen, dude. Bobby? Listen, Bobby. Monsters aren’t shit compared to the cruelty of other humans. It’s something that kid is gonna have to learn eventually, I just wish his mother felt the same.”

“Are you his step-mom, then?”

“Fuck no,” she snapped. “Sorry, I don’t want kids. No, he’s my half brother.”

“What’s the other half?”

“Not me.”

“So, despite everything, you intentionally use the goblin line to scare him?” Bobby asked you, raising an eyebrow.

“He listens better when he’s scared,” she shrugged. “Sometimes, though, I really do wish the goblins would come and take him away.” She whispered this last part, but she was certain this new stranger had heard her, something flickered in his eyes, like he knew precisely what she wished for. “I really do gotta get back in there, though. His mom will flay me alive if she finds out I left him in the house alone for this long. It was nice meeting you, maybe I’ll see you again,” she shrugged.

“Before you go, though. You want this balloon?”

Lindsey almost choked on her breath, turning back to him, finding the balloon tied around a cigarette instead of his wrist. Long fingers kept the string pinched between them, and her eyes widened a bit. He smiled, a beautiful thing, and she simply had to take the balloon, it was as if there was something other than her acting, pushing her forward.

She smiled, a timid thing, and went inside, locking the door behind her. When she peeked out the living room curtain, Bobby was gone. In the dusty grey light of dusk, it seemed as though this tall man had never been there at all.

She went upstairs, tying the balloon to her bedpost, before hunting down Troy and making sure he was all ready for bed.

Once he was all tucked in, she went back to the balloon, carefully untangling the cigarette. Before she lit it, she noticed the spindly black letters written on it.

_Bobby Gray_

was scrawled on one side, and as she turned the cigarette in her fingers,

_Watch out for the goblins._

It was creepy, she hadn’t remembered seeing him writing anything, but she hadn’t remembered seeing the balloon, either. Oh well.

Once again, she found herself wishing the goblins would take Troy in the middle of the night.


	2. Thirteen Hours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey wakes up to find her brother gone. She makes a deal with the clown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I'm having so much fun writing this. I might switch it around to third person, since it's easier for me to write, but I guess that's up to you guys.

Lindsey woke up to screaming. At first she thought it was just her dad and Janet fighting again, it happened frequently. But the screaming continued, and she noticed that it was frantic. She rose from bed, slowly, groggy, like maybe she had been drugged. She didn’t remember going to sleep, didn’t remember crawling into bed.

“What the hell is going on?” She mumbled, wobbling into the hall.

“Did you put Troy to bed?” Her father asked, eyes wide with terror. “Did you make sure he was in bed?”

“Yeah, I even checked on him. He was sound asleep. What’s going on?”

“Troy’s gone.” Her father’s voice was shaky, and her first emotion was one of relief. Troy was gone, finally, but then guilt washed over her in waves. Troy was gone.

“What do you mean Troy’s _gone_?”

Her father stepped aside, and she took a hesitant step into her brother’s bedroom. Lindsey understood now why Janet couldn’t stop screaming. There, above Troy’s bed, on the soft periwinkle wall, _“Goblin King, Goblin King, Wherever You May Be…”_

“Is…is that _blood_?” Her jaw fell open, and she stared at the wall, stomach clenching queasily. “I’m gonna go find him.” She turned on her heel, ready to run to her bedroom.

“I can’t lose you, too,” her father’s grip on her arm was firm.

“You won’t. I’ll find him, dad. I’ll bring him home. I promise.”

She changed quickly, pulling on leggings and an old baseball tee, moving so quick that she put her shoes on the wrong feet at first. She let out a strangled cry as she went to fix them.

“I’ll be back.”

She didn’t bother saying any other goodbyes, running out of the house and heading straight to the carnival. At this hour she didn’t think anyone would be there, but she had to look. Troy liked the carnival, and she had to make sure he hadn’t just snuck off to play. She knew you wouldn’t find him, knew deep down that Troy would soon just be another missing kid poster in Derry.

The carnival grounds were empty, like she knew they’d be. Well, mostly empty. She heard a giggle, deranged, somewhere to her left. She snapped her head in that direction, drawing in a shaky breath.

“So, so, so scared. Silly little thing, yes she is. Silly, silly. Wishes him away and then comes looking. What a silly girl, so silly, so fickle,” there was that giggling again, that sick, sick sound.

“It’s you, isn’t it?” She stared hard into the shadows, looking for the source of the voice. “You’re the one taking the kids.”

“You wished him away, now poor, poor little Troy is going to die all alone and scared in the dark. Tasty, tasty, scared little boy.”

“I didn’t mean it!” She cried, stomping your foot like a petulant child.

“Did you think this was a _game_? Silly girl. Pennywise likes games, yes he does.”

“You like games?” Her head shot up, gears in her mind turning. “Please, let’s play a game?”

A figure walked out of the shadows then, tall and looming, though its gait was lurchy. A clown stood before her, and there was something familiar about those blue eyes, and it was unnerving. But she didn’t flinch back, though she could feel herself quaking.

“She wants to play a game with Pennywise, yes she does! What _kind_ of game?”

“Any kind you want!” She blurted, “If I win, you have to let Troy go.”

“And if Pennywise wins?” The clown leaned forward, saliva dripping from its mouth. She shuddered. Lindsey didn’t want to know what would happen if this clown won.

“Then…then you can have me and my brother both.” She didn’t really think things through before she said it, and when the clown’s face split into and even wider grin, she realized she had more than likely just signed her own death warrant.

“Fine, fine. Pennywise will win, Pennywise always wins. Silly human,” he giggled, and his face drew murderously serious, “Thirteen hours, little human. You have thirteen hours to find your brother. Thirteen hours to find Pennywise’s home. If you win, you get him back. Alive. But if you lose,” the clown opened his mouth, and a long tongue slid from between his jaws, licking a broad stripe up the side of her face, “If you lose, I will gobble you both up!”

She looked around, terrified to find herself standing at the edge of the barrens instead of the carnival grounds. She blinked rapidly, head snapping in every direction. How’d she even get here? A disembodied voice spoke then, the clown, and she wasn't sure if she was actually hearing it or it was in her head.

“Thirteen hours once you reach the sewers, pretty thing.”

“Well,” she inhaled a deep breath, looking down at her feet, “No time like the present, huh?”

She hadn’t been in the Barrens for years, and she didn’t quite remember which way she was supposed to go, and in the early morning grey light, she realized that the Barrens were far more terrifying than she remembered them being.

“What the fuck are you doing in the Barrens at 5:30 in the morning?”

She jumped, spinning around and almost losing her footing. “What the _fuck_ , why do you keep doing that?” She glared at Bobby, who stood a little ways away from her, smoking. “Why are you in the Barrens?”

“I like walks in the morning. You didn’t answer my question.”

“It took my brother.”

“What took your brother?”

“I…it’s a clown. I think. No. I don’t know. The thing taking kids. It took Troy.”

“So, you’re in the Barrens chasing a clown? Fuck, why do all the pretty ones have to be crazy?”

“Will you help me?”

“Find a clown? No.”

“That’s not…just help me find the fucking sewers.”

“You are kidding.” Bobby barked out a laugh, and it made her grit your teeth. “Okay, no you’re not. I think you’re kind of full of shit, but alright. Come on then,” he walked past her, shoulder brushing hers as he did so. Lindsey huffed as she trudged behind him, glaring daggers into his back.

He stopped several yards away from the gaping maw of the sewer. His nose wrinkled, and he turned to look at her with those burning blue eyes.

“Which way do I go, once I’m in there?” She asked, peering into the darkness. She looked over to Bobby, eyes questioning.

“I wouldn’t go either way, but you go ahead and go whatever way you want to go. I’d just go home, honestly.”

“He’s my little brother, I can’t just…leave him.”

“Well, he’s only half your little brother, right? I mean, that’s what you said last night.”

Lindsey shot him a dirty look, and he simply shrugged it off. She sighed, looking between him and the tunnel into the sewers. “Can I have a cigarette, please?” Her voice was small, and Bobby studied her with serious eyes before offering her one, lighting it with steady hands.

“You’re about to go wading through shit water,” he mused.

“All of Derry is shit water, dude,” she deadpanned. The two of them made eye contact, and in moments they were both in a fit of giggles. When she had finally calmed down, Lindsey smoked in silence, looking him over as she stepped out her cigarette. “Well, if I die, thanks for the cigarette.”

She said nothing else, just took the first steps towards the sewers. She stopped just outside the entrance, remembering what she was told by the clown. Thirteen hours once she stepped foot in the sewers. Thirteen hours to save her brother.


	3. Hands of the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey goes further into the sewers, encountering the disembodied hands of the dead kids. When Bobby shows up to rescue her, she ignores her warning bells.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so I've been working on this for a while, but it took me a bit to figure out what exactly it was I wanted to do with this chapter. I figured it out, though. Well, this chapter did. Essentially wrote itself once I got so far. Feedback appreciated my dears, have fun.

 

The sewers were dank. Lindsey hated it. Dark and dank. Everything smelled like a basement. In fact, it wasn’t even sewer so much as it was something much darker. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she supposed she’d figure it out eventually.

She took some time for her eyes to adjust, but realized that the more time she waited, the less chances she had of winning this twisted game with the clown. She had promised her father she’d get Troy home, and she intended to keep that promise. She’d make sure Troy made it home, even if it meant that she didn’t.

She wished she had brought some sort of light source with her. The occasional light from sewer grates high above her didn’t do much to help. She had no idea how long she’d been wandering in these god forsaken fucking tunnels, but she was relieved when she finally came to a fork. She stopped for a moment, taking a hesitant step towards the right.

“No, don’t take that one!” A voice whispered harshly behind her. She spun, fear clinging at her heart as she stared down at Riley Wilkins. She was Troy’s age when we she went missing in February. They found her a week later, blue, like she’d frozen to death in a snowbank. Only when they pulled her out her stomach had been completely removed from the rest of her. The Riley in front of her seemed totally normal, apart from being blue and seemingly alive. She even had the red scarf they’d found her in wrapped around her neck.

“What was that?” She asked, forcing herself to stay put.

“I said don’t go that way. _Never_ go that way. If you want to find Troy and help him, you gotta go left!”

She didn’t know why, but Lindsey believed her, and she turned back towards the left, “Thanks,” she whispered, but when she turned around, Riley was gone. Lindsey felt the fear try to creep its way down her spine, but she did her best to suppress it. Now was not the time to be afraid, now was the time to press onwards, to find her brother.

She wasn’t sure, but she had a pretty good feeling that she was terribly fucking lost. She had come to another grated entrance, and with a dramatic sigh, she leaned against the tunnel. Surely, this wasn’t the right way to go. But when she turned around, she saw a pair of doors. She looked around her, certain that they hadn’t been there a moment before, just like she had been fairly certain the sewers were rearranging themselves as she pushed onwards. Lindsey rocked back on her heels, eyeing the doors cautiously. The one on the left read ‘Not Scary At All’, while the one on the right read ‘Very Scary’. She scoffed, pulling a face. “What kind of fucking choice is this?” She snapped into the sewers. She heard that otherworldly giggle again, and she caught herself wondering if it was in her head or she was actually hearing it.

She chewed on her lip, looking between the two doors. Well, she certainly wasn’t going to try and choose the door that supposedly wasn’t scary. That seemed too obvious. Had the clown actually thought she was stupid enough to fall for that? But even as she stepped towards the scary door, she felt herself drawn to the one that wasn’t scary. Something deep within her was still inclined to believe the door, and she quashed the childlike fear almost as soon as it bubbled up inside of her again. Her hand touched the knob of the door on the right, and when she yanked it open to see only sewers ahead of her, she was relieved. She had chosen correctly, after all. Lindsey heaved a great sigh of relief, simply standing in front of the open door for a long minute. The longer she was in the sewer, the more accustomed she was to the dim light. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard, after all. Besides, it wasn’t like Derry was a large town. Hell, how big could the sewers actually be? Sure, parents warned kids away from them, saying they went on for miles and miles, but that couldn’t be accurate. It was just some sort of story to keep kids out of the sewers. Although, considering what she was doing in the sewers, Lindsey started to wonder if maybe there was a good reason to stay away from the sewers, even if they didn’t extend as far as the adults said.

Lindsey stepped into the tunnel in front of her, overly pleased that she had made the right choice. But fear gripped her once again as she fell, down, down, down, until hands caught her. Only they weren’t _really_ hands, were they? Hundreds of hands grew out of the slick sewer walls, slimy and dead. Lindsey screamed, a guttural noise, but she wasn’t sure that anyone could hear her. “Let me go! Someone, help!”

“We are helping.” A voice whispered, and Lindsey thrashed about.

“What…what are you?” She was revolted by the clamminess on her skin, and longed for the hands to simply let her go.

“Riley Wilkins.”

“Jack Connor.”

“Jimmy Snyder.”

“Laura Blakey.”

“Jenny Tupins.”

Lindsey felt another scream building in her chest, recognizing the names of missing children from Derry in the last few months. There was a sick giggle somewhere above her, and Lindsey became distinctly aware that she was being lowered deeper, down towards something she didn’t yet know.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Down, down, down. But that’s okay, because soon, you’ll float, too! We _all_ float!”

Lindsey didn’t have a clue what that was supposed to mean, but she didn’t bother asking. Not when the hands were gradually lowering her, sending her deeper and deeper into the sewers. At least, that’s what it felt like. There was no other possible way, was there? Were these really the hands of missing children? Was this all some kind of horrible nightmare, and she’d wake up comfortably in her own bed, safe and warm, with Troy comfortable in his own bed, and her father and Janet home safe?

Lindsey hit the ground with a thud, crying out at the shock. She looked up, and the hands were gone, as though they were never there to begin with. She took in her surroundings, and she couldn’t tell much, since it was so dark. Stomping her feet a bit to test whether or not the ground was dry. When she heard no slosh of water, she heaved a sigh, allowing herself to sink to the hard ground. This wasn’t what she had been expecting, getting stuck in some kind of dank hole in the sewers. But here she sat, all the same.

The longer she sat, the more her imagination began to work. She’d never been afraid of the dark before, but something about this entire situation had her scared as hell. What was in the dark here with her? What couldn’t she see or hear? She imagined long tentacles growing out of the walls of the sewer, feeling their way blindly to her in the dark. She imagined the cool, clamminess of them snaking their way around her ankles and wrists, spreading her wide.

She’d dated a guy like that in high school, once. Janet and her father knew the guy’s parents, and though she was four years younger than the senior, they’d been pushed together as though it were the most natural thing in the world. They’d gotten along well enough, her and Steve. But there was always something off about him, always something a little strange. One day, after dinner, sitting up in his room, Steve had pulled out his laptop, showing Lindsey an animated pornography, watching her face with careful consideration. “I want to do that to you,” Steve had said. “Rape you open, like those tentacles.” Lindsey had hit him then, not with an open hand, but a closed fist. She ran down the stairs then and out the front door, regardless of whether or not her father and Janet got pissed off about it. She didn’t go anywhere near Steve or his family after that, much to the dismay of Janet.

And in this darkness, in t his complete and utter silence, Lindsey could have sworn that’s what was happening, that these tentacles were coming for her, their intent to rape her bloody. Did tentacles even have intent? She didn’t know, but she could feel the anxiety building in her chest. And as soon as the scream was building up, as soon as she was getting ready to thrash, light spilled through the dark room Lindsey was stuck in. Her head jerked up, and with eyes unused to light, all she saw was a terrifyingly tall figure, and the scream tore through her.

“Jesus Christ, do you always fuckin’ scream like that?”

“Bobby?! How’d you even get here?”

“Service ladder,” he pointed to the door behind him. “Barrens are just up there, thought I heard crying. How’d you get here?”

“The…the h-hands.”

“The hands.” Bobby didn’t pose it as a question, but Lindsey knew he didn’t believe her. “Right, the hands, sure.”

“Up there!” Lindsey hopped to her feet, pointing furiously upwards.

Bobby pulled out his lighter, holding it upwards. The pair peered up into the gloom, and Lindsey let out a startled cry when she saw the passage she had fallen down was empty. Bobby turned his face towards her, brows tipping upwards ever so slightly. “See, it’s empty. Did you fall from up there? Is anything broken?”

He wore a secret sort of smile on his face, like he knew something that Lindsey did not. Lindsey’s brows furrowed, and she shook her head. Half to tell him no, half to try to convince herself that she wasn’t going crazy. “I’m fine,” she mumbled it, but she wasn’t sure if she was fine or not. Was anything in these sewers even real?

“Come on, then. Up the service ladder. Take you as far as I can, I guess. Might as well make sure you’re alright since I’m here.”

Lindsey climbed up the ladder before Bobby, too scared to look behind her. “So, where in the Barrens is this?”

“Hm? Not far from Witcham Street, actually. Still weird you fell so far. That’s like, under all the other pipes. Huh, never knew Derry’s sewers had an oubliette. Guess it’s not surprising, though.”

Bobby chattered beneath her as she climbed upwards, towards the light, grateful to leave that dark hole behind. Once she reached the top, she stumbled gratefully into the light, allowing herself to collapse into the soft grass of the Barrens. She took deep, greedy breaths, letting the smell of grass and dirt fill her lungs. She rolled over onto her back, making eye contact with Bobby.

“Want a cigarette?”

“Please.”

The two sat in silence, shoulders pressed together as they smoked. Lindsey didn’t bother saying anything, didn’t bother asking what he was still doing in the Barrens, or even what time it was. She didn’t want to know how much time had passed, how much time she had left. Lindsey laid back down, enjoying the plushness of the grass cradling her body.

“You’re actually really pretty,” Bobby noted from beside her. Her head snapped to look at him, eyes wide.

“Uh, thanks?”

“I didn’t notice it before. But in this light? Your freckles are cute.”

She didn’t say anything, just looked at him, unsure of how to take a compliment from him. He was still a stranger to her, a beautiful one, but a stranger none the less.

“How long have you been coming to Derry to visit your grandparents?” She asked him instead.

“Oh, as long as I can remember. Derry is a delectable little town. So much to drink in.” There was something about his eyes in that moment, something almost dangerous, and Lindsey felt the sharp pricks of fear against her spine.

“I should…probably get going. I’ve already wasted too much time. I’ve got to find Troy,” Lindsey went to rise to her feet, but Bobby’s long fingers curled around her wrist.

“Stay with me. Forget about the boy. Just stay with me,” his voice was pleading, and when Lindsey made eye contact, she found herself drawn into those eyes, those swirling green orbs that seemed to glow gold when sunlight hit them just right.

“I can’t.”

Bobby closed the distance then, pressing his plush lips to her own, and Lindsey felt as if she were melting. He was absolutely intoxicating, and she was sorely tempted to stay, here with him, forever. She moaned into his mouth before pulling away, “I really do have to go, Bobby.”

“Hopefully I’ll see you on the other side,” he whispered, and let her go.

With a longing look behind her at this new stranger, she went back into the sewers.

He had tasted like cotton candy.


	4. Eddie Kaspbrak Makes A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsey meets Eddie Kaspbrak in the sewers, and has to determine whether or not he's here to help or to hurt.

The longer Lindsey walked, the more she wished she had actually taken Bobby up on his offer. This was just getting to be too much. Her pants were soaked, and she shuddered to think about with what. In fact, she shuddered to think about why she was down here in the sewers, far below Derry. 

She came to a wide area, looking around, and cried out angrily. The sewers branched off in six different directions, and she had no idea which one she was supposed to choose. There were just too many choices, and until today, she’d had no prior experience with Derry’s sewer systems. Which, considering how awful it was down here, was probably for the best. But at least some prior knowledge might have made it easier to navigate. 

“Jesus, I’m about sick of these fucking sewers.” 

“You and me both, kid,” a voice came from one of the tunnels, and Lindsey’s head shot in that direction, peering into the blackness, afraid of what was to come out. A man exited the tunnel then, hands outturned. “Hey, relax, it’s alright, I won’t hurt you.”

“Who are you?”

“Eddie Kaspbrak.”

“What are you doing down here?” 

“Oh, me? Stupid clown killed me, only it wasn’t a clown. What are you doing down here?”

“What do you mean he wasn’t a clown? What else could he be? He took my brother, and I’m here to get him back.”

“Not he, IT. And if It took your brother, there’s not anything left to get back.”

“No,” Lindsey shook her head violently. “No, we made a deal. I made a deal with the clown. He’s giving me thirteen hours to get my brother back.”

“You made a deal with It? Jesus Christ, kid. You’re just asking for trouble.”

“Well, if you’re not gonna help, just go away,” Lindsey snapped. 

“Alright, alright. Here, come on. This way,” he gestured to a tunnel on the right, and unsure whether or not she could trust him, she went anyway. She didn’t have much of a choice. And maybe someone who had died down here would have a better idea, or else she was going to die down here, too. 

“So what were you doing down here? Y’know, to die?”

“My friends and me had a real stupid idea to try and kill It. We failed, obviously. Or else I’d still be alive.” 

“Well, that’s fucking stupid,” a voice came from a tunnel up ahead, and she shrank back. 

“Bobby?!” 

“Hey, babe.” 

“How do you keep finding me?”

“Lucky guess, I guess. Who’s your friend, replace me already?”

“Ew, no,” Lindsey looked quickly over to Eddie, “No offense, but you’re like. As old as my dad or something. Eddie, this is Bobby Gray. Bobby, this is Eddie. Pennywise killed him.”

“Yeah, I heard. But obviously him and his friends succeeded somewhat. There aren’t nearly as many missing kids this time.”

“What do you mean this time?”

“Oh, yeah, The Cycle. Every 27 years or so,” Eddie said nonchalantly from beside her, and Lindsey looked between the two men. 

“How long have you been down here, Eddie?”

“Only a few months, not many.” 

“This is fucking impossible.”

“You’re talking to a dead dude in the sewers, babe. Of course it’s impossible. Nothing down here is real,” Bobby lit two cigarettes, passing one to Lindsey, she took it with a grateful smile, sighing happily as smoke filled her lungs. 

“Cigarettes bother my asthma,” Eddie said, and Bobby gave him a disinterested look. 

“You’re dead, Eds, my man. You don’t have asthma anymore.” 

Eddie beckoned them, and Bobby slung an arm around Lindsey’s shoulders as they walked, the two once more smoking in silence. Lindsey noticed that the longer she was down here, the less the smell bothered her. Which that alone bothered her. After all, who wanted to get used to the stench of sewer? If she made it out of this alive, she was going to go home and take the hottest shower she possibly could, until the water ran cold. Janet and her rules could suck a fat dick, this was absolutely disgusting. Lindsey considered what would happen if she found Troy alive, whether or not her relationship with Janet would change. More than likely it wouldn’t, Lindsey had the distinct impression that Janet hated her, and that was a-okay with her. The truth of the matter was that Lindsey really didn’t like her, either.

“Seriously, where are we even going?”

“To the center of the sewers,” Eddie said, looking over his shoulder at her. “That’s where It is. That’s where your brother will be.” 

“I…did I tell you about my brother?” Lindsey couldn’t remember, and she eyed Eddie’s back warily. 

“I’m dead. I know everything.”

Lindsey supposed that made sense, since her mother had always said that dead people saw everything. 

“You did tell me, though,” Eddie comforted. “I didn’t mean to spook you.”

“You didn’t spook me,” Lindsey replied quickly. Bobby’s lips were touching her ear then. 

“Liar,” he whispered, flicking the tip of his tongue out to touch it to her skin. “You’re scared as hell.” There was something eerily familiar about his voice, but she couldn’t place it. Fear moved down her spine, curling into her stomach the same way pleasure did when she touched herself late at night. 

“How much longer do we have to go? Is it very far? We’ve been down here for hours it seems,” she complained, flicking her cigarette somewhere behind her. 

“These sewers go on for miles,” Eddie told her, and she shuddered. She hadn’t been intending on being down here very long, she only had thirteen hours, after all, and she didn’t know where she was on the time.

“I don’t know how much time I have left!”

They turned the corner, and as if on cue, a strange sort of clock appeared before them. The arms were literal arms, pointing. She’d already been here for three hours. Three hours. That left her only ten hours to find her brother. Ten hours seemed like a very long time any other place in the world, but in the sewers beneath Derry, ten hours didn’t seem like much time at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, guys, that it's been so long. Between school work and holidays I've been swamped. Goal from 2019 is to write a chapter a week, so hopefully you won't have to wait as much.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going through and changing everything to third person. It's easier for me to write.


End file.
